Party with the Arizona Sinners

I only heard it was a “Rat Rod” car show in Phoenix. My roadster’s a rat rod, whatever that means anymore, so I figured I’d fit in. Later I found out the party was hosted by my online friend Cadillac Cowboy (Bob) and his buddies from the Arizona Sinners. Bob’s got a few pics of his nasty Blown 427 Model T in his garage here at MyRideisMe.com.

The Arizona Sinners I’ve met have been easy going and die hard car guys. They build what the drive and they drive’m hard. One sinner at the party, Jerry, introduced me to the HAMB message board way back in 2002. If you want to find Jerry, look for his Hawaiian/Vintage style shirt at just about any swap meet in AZ. He’ll be there carrying a handful of vintage tools and an old gauge or two. He’s one of those guys that’s always there early then stays late to get the deals. I also think he’d drive his old Chevy truck (old cause he likes it that way!) across Arizona uphill both ways to help a friend.

It was cool to meet Bob face to face and check out his new shop. At 11th Ave and Grand, he’s right in the heart of Phoenix’s Art Walk. Building vintage style cars or motorcycles might not be art to everyone, but it is to Bob and his shop’s got room to grow and big plans. We’ll stop back buy when he’s had time to (clean up from the party!) get things organized. The Rockabilly style bands were jamming in what will soon be a custom showcase for finished cars and bikes, pinstriping and pinup art. Stop by yourself and have a look!

Until then, enjoy a few pictures taken by my man Paul Swansen. I think he enjoys sharing alot of pictures at MyRideisMe.com (he’s made several car show picture galleries) cause it makes my photos look like crap. That’s cool with me as long as he keeps sharing! To get a high res copy of any shot shown below, get in touch with Paul from his car show garage that’s stuffed with his original photos.

If this is your car, feel free to Join us here… and leave a comment!. Of course sarcastic or intentionally humorous and light hearted comments are strictly prohibited. (so don’t even try it)

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Lead East 2008 – Customs, Music, & Non-Stop Partying

Lead East in Parsippany, NJ is definitely not like any other car show that I have ever visited. Actually the guys and girls over at Appleton Productions Inc., the company that produces the show, like to say “Lead East is NOT a car show, it is a party, a 50′s party!” And you had better be well rested before you attend this party or you won’t survive. Because, the party is pretty much non-stop from Thursday to Sunday night every Labor Day weekend. The event, billed as the “World’s biggest 50′s party”, emphasized the music of the 50′s with Doo Wop groups such as Kenny Vance & the Plantones, Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, Little Isidore, and many more playing in the Hilton Ballroom. Rockabilly groups such as The Greyhounds and The Razorbacks also cranked it up to annoy the neighbors. Keeping everyone informed was the job of DJ Jerry “The Wolfman” Burst as he played the tunes and made announcements broadcasting through a low power FM broadcast and being piped to the very large speakers set ontop of the hotels. This was great because Lead East actually encourages everyone to cruise the different lots rather than just park and sit in a chair!

Throughout the day, on Saturday and Sunday, there were seminars such as “How to write a Hit 50′s Song” and “Basic 50′s Dancing Lessons.” The wife and I took time-out to cool down and chat with Alan Mayes (Managing Editor of Ol’ Skool Rodz and Car Kulture DeLuxe Magazines) and Bill Dilman as they put on their seminar “How to get your car in a magazine.” This year’s guest celebrity at Lead East was none other than famed customizer Gene Winfield. I definitely made the effort to go shake his hand, chat, and buy some cool stuff from him at his signing table. I also ran into him a few times early in the morning looking over some of the cool customs on the lots. And that is what cars this show caters to; customs. More than 50% of the cars here were customs. The rest were street rods, gassers, muscle cars, a few restored cars, the occasional art car, and true rat rods. I was in heaven over the number of big Caddies here; over a dozen ’59 through ’63 in various configurations. “I just loves me some big Caddy fins!” After talking to a few of the regulars that attend every year, I had the feeling that the high gas prices and bad economic times made an impact on the number of cars that turned out. Even though the regulars said there weren’t as many cars this year as there were in previous years, there were still well over a thousand vehicles in attendance.

And for those that made it there but might not make it home, the guys from Meadowlands Street Rod Association had a repair shop set up in the parking lot to help out. Luckily the only issue we had with our ’48 Ford Sedan jalopy was a brake light switch that was misbehaving. Repositioning the switch bracket fixed our problem. Well, okay there were other problems but it is a jalopy; wipers don’t really clean the winshield (thank you Rain-X), no defrost for fogged windows (again, thank you Rain-X), rough Jersey roads played heck with our bottoms without much of a rear spring, no AC and 90 degree heat, glass packs and a 5 hour commute each way. I did discover that the jalopy does get 16.5 miles per gallon which is good to know since the fuel gauge isn’t callibrated correctly.

The party and cruising continued throughout the nights although Friday turned sour due to the rain. The Golden Gup brought the party to the parking lot with his Seaburg powered ’58 Olds; the legendary “Jukemobile“. Tents and Tiki Huts were set up everywhere as the party raged on. Budweiser had several stations throughout the main lots if you were thirsty. If you were too pooped to party you could catch a movie at the Drive-in setup behind the Hilton. They played cartoons and movies such as “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “Two Lane Blacktop“. Oh, and you think you have seen big 50/50 drawings before? How about over $10,000 dollars going to the winner of the Make-a-Wish drawing.

This was hands down the best car show I have ever attended. I highly recommend springing for the Plan “A” party pass so you can enjoy all the show has to offer even though it’s a bit pricey since you need to reserve 4 nights at one of the hotels. Sign up early since the hotels sell out about six months prior to the show. Even if you can only do one day it is still worth the trip.

Check out some of the pictures of this year’s show in the Picture Gallery.

(Visit my Garage: bubbastoybox)

Deuce of Spades – The Hot Rod Movie

How long has it been since you were excited about a car movie? Looking back there were a few good car movies, (Who remembers Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry) especially my all time favorite “American Graffiti”. Has there been or will there ever be a car movie with such massive appeal and with an equally massive following? Released in 1973, American Graffiti still spawns clone cars and I saw “John Milner” (Paul Le Mat) at this year’s Grand National Roadster Show. Wikopedia’s got a ton to say about American Graffiti, but none more amazing then this: Graffiti is the highest cost-to-profit success in film history.

When I first saw the trailer for Deuce of Spades, the first thing I thought of was American Graffiti. Deuce of Spades is a true car movie and it’s focused purely on hot rods. I can’t wait. I’m not saying they’re similar, because they’re not!

Faith Granger, the woman (yea, a woman) behind Deuce of Spades tells me, ” American Graffiti is a feel good movie about cruising and coming of age… and having fun.” Deuce of Spades, on the other hand, is “An epic drama. It’s a long, intense, fun and at times a tear-jerker. It’s very dark and deep, inspiring and artistic and fun too! It’s a hot rod film with substance and that in itself has never been attempted.”

More about Faith Granger… I struggled how to describe her then decided to call her the mother of Deuce of Spades. It’s the only thing that fits because she’s doing nearly everything to make this movie:

Its her idea and she wrote it

She’s filming (actually holding the camera!) directing and producing it

She’s editing it and doing about half the music herself (the other half is donated by some cool 50′s style rockabilly artists)

Heck, it’s even her car featured as the star of the movie.

Faith is, in her words, “a Hot Rod girl extraordinaire, renaissance woman, chick of many hats, master juggler, jack of all trades and master of a couple…” No kidding. Faith believes she should have been born in the US, but some how started life in France. A self taught singer/songwriter and guitar player since age 7, at 10, Faith left France for Beirut. 5 months into her stay in Beirut, a civil war broke out. Yea, really! Persevering and eventually finding success in music, radio and even some modeling and acting, she followed her heart and landed in Los Angeles with a suitcase and $400.

That doesn’t sound like somone who can make a convincing hot rod movie does it? There’s more. Faith’s passion for all things mechanical started when she was 12. Everything from sneaking a peak at a mechanic’s handbook under her desk in class to tearing apart her dad’s carb to clean it, Faith liked to get her hands dirty and says, “I was a real tomboy.” She started with motorcycles, then a couple years later go into cars. Finally, she got her hands on the smooth deuce roadster in the film. (more on that in another blog)

Fast forward to January 2007 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA. Faith, to celebrate her Deuce roadster’s 75th birthday, Faith decided to make a short movie called “Last of the Hiboy Girls” honoring women and their old Ford roadsters. As Faith enjoyed watching the car show audience stop and spend a full hour watching her movie (forgetting about the rest of the show) she knew she had to make her own featured film. Deuce of Spades was born. A film true to the era, true to the cars and true to the spirit of hot rodding.

There’s so much more to say about Faith and this movie, but I’ll end it here with this movie trailer for Deuce of Spades. When I first saw it, I immediately contacted Faith to find out who she was and how I can help her with promote the film. Deuce of Spades is almost done now and should be available Spring 2009. With everything she’s done herself, she’s enjoyed, “Full artistic control, pure artistic endeavor” while at the same time, “Glorifying the old jalopies and telling their side of the story for a change.” Sounds great, but that also means she’s footing the bill herself; true, “Indie” film style. If the spirit of the movie moves you, make a donation here. Faith’s having trouble feeding her actors on set, so it’d needed!

Make sure you leave a comment about the trailer here to encourage her. I’ll write more to help her tease the movie later. It’s gonna be great!

Movie Trailer

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